Softwr

Government · head to head

GovQA vs Periscope Holdings

GovQA logo

GovQA

Government

Government Request Management

From
$400/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Periscope Holdings logo

Periscope Holdings

Government

Statewide e-procurement systems and supplier networks for large public agencies

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: GovQA pricing not published on vendor website; government contracting and custom quote model obscures list pricing; Periscope Holdings it is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.
  • They diverge on capability: GovQA covers FOIA Management, Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GovQA and Periscope Holdings actually diverge.

Attributes where GovQA and Periscope Holdings differ
AttributeGovQAPeriscope Holdings
Starting price$400/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Founded1999Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Government).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in GovQA

  • FOIA Management
  • Subpoena Processing
  • e-Discovery
  • Constituent Portal
  • Reporting
  • Document Management
  • Email
  • Court Systems

Only in Periscope Holdings

  • Sealed bid solicitation
  • Supplier registration network
  • Contract catalogues
  • Cooperative purchasing
  • Spend and compliance reporting
  • Supplier diversity tracking

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

GovQA

  • Public records request management and legal compliance automationnot Periscope Holdings
  • Digital communication delivery to residents and constituentsnot Periscope Holdings
  • Service request management for government agencies and local departmentsnot Periscope Holdings
  • Agenda and meeting management for city councils and boardsnot Periscope Holdings
  • Business licensing and permitting workflow automationnot Periscope Holdings

Periscope Holdings

  • A state building a central procurement portal serving many agencies and local entitiesnot GovQA
  • A large agency needing statutory sealed bidding with a public opening recordnot GovQA
  • A purchasing programme that must report spend and supplier diversity across entitiesnot GovQA
  • A state wanting local governments to buy from its awarded cooperative contractsnot GovQA

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

GovQA

  • Pricing not published on vendor website; government contracting and custom quote model obscures list pricing
  • Requires booking a demo to learn pricing and deployment options

Periscope Holdings

  • It is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.
  • The interface reflects the age and regulatory weight of the platform, and suppliers routinely describe registration and bidding as harder than on newer portals, which can suppress bid response.
  • Ownership has changed twice since 2021, from independent to mdf commerce to KKR, so roadmap and support continuity should be written into the contract rather than assumed.
  • Sibling products inside mdf commerce cover adjacent procurement ground, which means an apparently competitive shortlist may contain two products with the same owner.
  • Statewide implementations are multi year projects with heavy configuration and change management, and the professional services cost commonly exceeds the software over the contract term.

Pricing, plan by plan

GovQA

$400/month
  • Request Management$400/month
    • FOIA Management
    • e-Discovery
    • Constituent Portal

Periscope Holdings

On request
  • BuySpeed$undefined/year
    • Quoted per programme, scaled to entities served and transaction volume
    • Multi year statewide contracts with implementation priced separately
    • Supplier side registration fees form part of the commercial model on some programmes

Which should you pick?

Choose GovQA if

  • You need foia management.
  • You also want subpoena processing.
GovQA review

Choose Periscope Holdings if

  • You need sealed bid solicitation.
  • You also want supplier registration network.
Periscope Holdings review

Questions people ask

Is GovQA or Periscope Holdings better?
Neither clearly leads. GovQA starts at $400/month and Periscope Holdings at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GovQA or Periscope Holdings?
GovQA starts at $400/month and Periscope Holdings at On request.
Does GovQA or Periscope Holdings run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is GovQA best used for?
GovQA is most often used for public records request management and legal compliance automation, digital communication delivery to residents and constituents, service request management for government agencies and local departments, agenda and meeting management for city councils and boards. Of those, public records request management and legal compliance automation and digital communication delivery to residents and constituents are not what Periscope Holdings is typically brought in for.
What can GovQA do that Periscope Holdings cannot?
GovQA covers FOIA Management, Subpoena Processing, e-Discovery, Constituent Portal. Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation, Supplier registration network, Contract catalogues, Cooperative purchasing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

GovQA: What does GovQA (formerly Granicus) cost?

Granicus does not display pricing on its website. The vendor requires customers to schedule a demo or contact sales to receive cost estimates.

Source
Periscope Holdings: Who owns Periscope Holdings?

mdf commerce acquired it in 2021, and mdf commerce was itself acquired by KKR in 2024.

GovQA: Does Granicus offer Government Experience Agent (GXA) pricing separately?

Granicus lists Government Experience Agent as a feature of its Government Experience Cloud platform, but separate licensing costs are not published.

Source
Periscope Holdings: Is it suitable for a single city?

Usually not. It is built and priced for statewide or very large agency programmes.

GovQA: How many users can access Granicus services under one license?

Granicus does not specify user seat counts, unlimited user models, or per-agency pricing on its website. Licensing terms vary by government size and jurisdiction.

Source
Periscope Holdings: What is BuySpeed?

The e-procurement platform behind its statewide deployments, covering solicitation through catalogue ordering and reporting.

Periscope Holdings: Can we see what a state paid?

Yes. State procurement awards are public records and typically disclose the full multi year contract value.

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